Kanye West??

[abac]

What am I missing?

People actually LIKE this guy?? I cannot believe this! I was floored when he won all those awards!

I honestly do not understand what people like about this guy. Is it the music? Or the message? Explain it to me, please!

(When I first heard him perform that song that says something like, "God, give me strength, cause the devil's tryin' to bring me down," I really thought it was supposed to be a joke. I thought the same thing when I first heard "Hey-ya!" by Outcast. )

[chersolly]

I like him.

[polka123]

Originally Posted by abac

What am I missing?

People actually LIKE this guy?? I cannot believe this! I was floored when he won all those awards!

Nothing. :LOL .... you are not missing anything.... hopefully he's used up 14 of his 15 minutes.

[UnschoolnMa]

Originally Posted by abac

What am I missing?

People actually LIKE this guy??

Very much so.

I honestly do not understand what people like about this guy. Is it the music? Or the message? Explain it to me, please!

I love that his voice sounds different to me somehow. Unique in a sea of same-sounding-exchange-one-for-another artists. I love his lyrics!!

"You know what the midwest is? Young & Restless
Where restless n***** might snatch your necklace
And next these n***** might jack your Lexus"

"To the hustlers, killers, murderers, drug dealers even the strippers (Jesus walks for them) To the victims of welfare feel we living hell here hell yea (Jesus walks for them)"

"I ain't here to argue about his facial features or hear to turn atheists into believers."

(I have more but we can't put more than a little snippet here) He's not hard to look at either, IMO.

(When I first heard him perform that song that says something like, "God, give me strength, cause the devil's tryin' to bring me down," I really thought it was supposed to be a joke.)

I didn't get that vibe from it. It just felt like something that mattered to him so he said so.

[Fishygirlsmom]

Kanya West is incredible! I love that he is brining attention to the people in the diamond mines, and that he had the balls to say what he felt on live television. He is awesome!

[jacksmama]

I don't know much about him but I respect what I've seen. Not a fan of his music, but then I answered that Neil Diamond Poll in TAO as "I love Neil Diamond!".

Personally I think that what he says appears to be very from the heart, but also thought out. I think listening to him try to get his message across is waaay better than some of the "girls are just for sex, shake your booty, take your clothes off, and worship me for the great man I am." Not sure if anyone's noticed, but have you watched videos lately? I'm shocked at the way some artists / rapper community portray women. Not all, but there are some that really irk me. And sometimes I like the song - but hate the message and the video.

[Momto2boysNagirl]

I love him. I love that his music has a purpose. Most rap songs out today are about sex and money. And I love that he had the guts to speak his mind on the telethon.

[De-lovely]

I think he's great.....aside from his own lyrical skills......he has been making incredible hip hop beats for years.THEN he made albums of his own and BLEW up. I think he's refreshing in a market of "shake dat A**" songs-(that is really a song)I think the "Jesus Walks" song is so dope....I know I know he cusses in other songs etc so how can it be genuine? I can say I think that is what makes it even more honest-He's a sinner I am a sinner and yet Jesus still walks for us......(not to be all Jesus-y ).Its one of the only mainstream hip hop albums my dh and I have bought in YEARS.

[sevenkids]

I like him, I like hip-hop. I even like the more hard core hip hop, DMX, Mystikal, Snoop, Twista, Trick Daddy.

(When I first heard him perform that song that says something like, "God, give me strength, cause the devil's tryin' to bring me down," I really thought it was supposed to be a joke. I thought the same thing when I first heard "Hey-ya!" by Outcast. )

Why did you think it was joke? You don't think hip hop artists love God?
Hey-Ya, on the other hand, had no message whatsoever and was intended to be just a fun dance jam. When OutKast makes a serious song, you know it.

[fluffernutter]

I like him. And I don't normally listed to rap or hip hop. I believe he has a message and purpose with his music, which many artists today (from all genres) lack.

Plus, his story is pretty incredible.

From Roc-A-Fella Records website: http://www.rocafella.com/Artist.aspx?v=bio&key=7

While driving back to his hotel in Los Angeles, West was involved in a near-fatal auto accident that left his jaw fractured in three places. "I have flashbacks of what happened every day," says West. "And anytime I hear about any accident my heart sinks in and I thank God that I’m still here. I found out how short life is and how blessed you are to be here." Surviving the accident had been a miracle, and West - down but not out - used the experience as inspiration for his breakthrough single as an MC, the haunting and triumphant "Through The Wire," in which he chronicled the painful experience through a jaw literally wired shut.

[amj'smommy]

: Is he the guy who does the song with Jamie Foxx... or should I say Jamie Foxx does the song with him ?? I that song!!! I'm really bad at knowing the artist of a song, but I know what songs I like

[Momto2boysNagirl]

Yes it's called "Golddigger"

[UnschoolnMa]

Originally Posted by amj'smommy

: Is he the guy who does the song with Jamie Foxx... or should I say Jamie Foxx does the song with him ?? I that song!!!

Me too!! It's my fave right now. I crank it everytime, and when it comes on the kids yell "Mom, your song is on!!" :LOL

[Fishygirlsmom]

Oh, yeah, white rock groups don't portray women as sex objects, not at all. It's just those dang rappers

[soulsistah]

I LOVE him, this one is my favorite off his new CD. It remind's me of when my aunt died of cancer....here's a snippet.

"Roses"
....I'm argueing like what kind of doctor can we fly in
You know the best medicine go to people thats paid,
If Magic Johnson got a cure for A.I.D.'s
And all the broke m*****f***rs past away
You tellin me if my grandma was in the N.B.A.
Right now she'd be ok?
But since she was just a secretary
Working for the church
For thirty five years
Things sposed to stop right here
My grandfather tryin to pull it together, he strong,
Thats where I get my confidence from
I asked the nurse "did you do the research?"
She ask me, "can you sign some t-shirts?"
Witch is you smokin reefer?
You dont see that we hurt?

[Shonahsmom]

Kanye is brilliant as far as I'm concerned and there's no "fifteen minutes" about it. He's been around producing for a long time and will be for a long time to come.

He really has a lot to say. Check out this verse from Diamonds from Sierra Leone (remix):

"Good Morning, this ain't Vietnam still
People lose hands, legs, arms for real
Little was known of Sierra Leone
And how it connect to the diamonds we own
When I speak of Diamonds in this song
I ain't talkin bout the ones that be glown
I'm talkin bout Rocafella, my home, my chain
These ain't conflict diamonds,is they Jacob? don't lie to me mayne
See, a part of me sayin' keep shinin',
How? when I know of the blood diamonds
Though it's thousands of miles away
Sierra Leone connect to what we go through today
Over here, its a drug trade, we die from drugs
Over there, they die from what we buy from drugs
The diamonds, the chains, the bracelets, the charmses
I thought my Jesus Piece was so harmless
'til I seen a picture of a shorty armless"

Now, how many rappers (that get radio play anyway) are trying to elevate consciousness in the hip-hop community about things like the diamond trade?

Even if you don't like rap or hip-hop or Kanye himself, you've got to have respect for that.

[FeministFatale]

I heard him on Def Poetry, and I wasn't impressed. I actually skipped over him, the other people were better. But I just saw that he was on live tv talking about Katrina and him and Mike Meyers were reading from a teleprompter or something and he just comes out and says all serious "Bush doesn't care about black people." Or something to that effect, I thought that was great :LOL I love people who will speak from the heart like that on live tv.